EINLEITUNG

Um die Bedeutung dieser Vereinbarung zu begreifen, muss man daran denken, dass Hongkong eine Region mit einem eigenen Steuersystem, anders als denen der Volksrepublik China, ist. So steht Hongkong als Niedrigsteuergebiet mit einem des einfachsten Steuersystems der Welt. Die wichtigsten Steuern in Hong Kong beinhalten Steuern auf Gewinne, Einkommen und Vermögen.

Im 1992 unterzeichneten Spanien und die Volksrepublik China ein Abkommen, um eine Doppelbesteuerung zwischen beiden Ländern zu vermeiden. Allerdings, wurde Hongkong, als die Volksrepublik China 1997 die Kontrolle über Hongkong übernahm, in dieses Abkommen nicht eingebracht. Daher wurde es erforderlich, ein neues Abkommen zu unterzeichnen, damit Hongkong die Steueroase-Liste verlassen könnte.

Am 10. Juni 2011 wurde schließlich das Abkommen zwischen Spanien und der Sonderverwaltungszone Hongkong der Volksrepublik China unterzeichnet, um die Doppelbesteuerung zwischen beiden Parteien zu vermeiden.

CONSEQUENCES

When said Agreement enters into force, Hong Kong shall cease to be considered a tax haven by the Spanish Tax Authorities.

This Agreement has two fundamental objectives, first of all the exchange of fiscal information between the two members, and secondly, to prevent income subject to taxation in one of the member states from being taxed again in the other member state.

Thus:

  • A company resident in Spain shall only pay tax in Hong Kong on profits obtained in this region when they are derived from a permanent establishment situated there, otherwise the company resident in Spain shall pay tax in Spain. In the first case, profits generated by the permanent establishment in the state of residence of the latter shall be taxed.
  • This is an advantage for Spanish companies who wish to enter China via Hong Kong, given that companies resident in Hong Kong enjoy a favourable position for operating in China.
  • The dividends distributed by Spanish companies to partners / shareholders resident in Hong Kong (and vice versa) shall only be taxed in the country of residence of the partner / shareholder. For partners / shareholders resident in Hong Kong, with participations / shares in Spanish companies, this shall mean lower taxation and therefore attract investment coming from said region.

ENTRY INTO FORCE

The entry into force of this Agreement is made up of several stages. The first is the internal passing thereof by each member. On 14th April 2012, the Agreement was published in the Official State Gazette (of Spain), a sign that it has already been passed by each of the members.

The Agreement shall enter into force within three months following the publication in the Official State Gazette. However, the section following the provisions of the Agreement establishes that it shall come into effect in any fiscal year starting after the 1st April of the subsequent year, or as from the 1st April of the calendar year subsequent to the entry into force of the Agreement. Therefore, the majority of the provisions shall come into effect as from 1st April 2014.

Für weitere informationen, kontaktieren Sie:

Ismael PERALTA: ipv@vila.es

27.04.2012